Yours
by Ariathel
Summary: Mamoru leaves for college, and returns - only to become Usagi's teacher. Will he be welcomed back into the old group, and what surprises await him there?


Author: Lindsay  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Story: Yours  
  
AN: Please read and review! I wrote this a long time ago, so don't mind the fact that there totally isn't any plot and all the characters are... well... out of character. :)  
  
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As she stared blankly at the book in front of her, Usagi's mind briefly drifted off to her current obsession. She knew her friends thought she was still childlike, and didn't care. 'Let them think what they want,' she thought. She had already been through all the psychology of her mind, she understood herself as best as she could. She enjoyed crushes, the thought of someone special that belonged to her, and that she in turn belonged to. That's why, though her friends all had steady relationships, she hadn't been on a date yet.  
  
"Are you there, Usa?" Ami said impatiently. Her blonde hair was pulled back by several hair clips so she could read without interference. She had an exasperated look in her eyes. Usagi looked up, nodding.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Ami sighed, returned to her discussion of the concepts at hand. Usagi, groaning inwardly, tried to pay attention. Ami was helping her friend with physics work, preparing for the test the next day. Usagi didn't understand about significant figures, the formulas, the variables... 'The list is endless,' she thought with a groan. As her eyes focused on the page she stared at the words began to swim.  
  
Suddenly a tear slipped down her cheek, to her surprise. Several others chased it, the drops soaking into and marring the pages of the textbook. Ami looked up to scold her friend, her expression softening. "What's wrong, Usa?"  
  
"I don't know... ugh Ami, why is school so hard? Even Minako's getting it now."  
  
Ami set her book down, prepared to go over the familiar lecture when Usagi interrupted her. "Yes, I do try to study. I can't concentrate. The words just... don't make any sense."  
  
Frowning, Ami began to say "You should focus-"  
  
"I try, but I can't. I just... I feel bad about wasting your time. I think I'm just going to drop the class."  
  
Ami's mouth opened, then shut. She sighed. "Don't do that, Usa. You're smart, you just need to work harder."  
  
"But I can't. If I'm not getting it now, why will I have it down by midterms?"  
  
Shrugging, Ami struggled to come up with an argument, then sighed. "Perhaps it's me." When Usagi raised an eyebrow, she continued. "I may not be getting things across well enough. Perhaps someone else?"  
  
Shaking her head, Usagi let her book fall shut. "Ami, it's not you. It's me, I-"  
  
"Let's just try it, okay? If you still aren't getting it, we'll try something else." She nodded to herself, as if it was her decision, and smiled. "I know just the person."  
  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Usagi walked into the classroom, feeling the familiar wave of dread that accompanied her to the class. She glanced around and then sat at her desk, starting blankly at the scribbles across the board. Everyone else seemed to understand them, why couldn't she? She sighed, knowing all the other bits of her life ate away at her consciousness. 'Not that I can give up anything...' Senshi duties, school, her parents, college, the list never ended. She grimaced inwardly. Her parents had grounded her for five weeks, until report cards came out. Only then might she be able to go out of the house again.  
  
The bell rang, and she let the room around her slide back into focus. She'd been a senshi for two years, and it was becoming so routine, like breathing. She and her four best friends fought the infamous dark forces by night, aided by the stunningly mysterious Tuxedo Kamen. They still didn't know who he was, though Ami had a few guesses. As her friends talked about the new teacher that was coming today, she allowed a smile to come to her face. Their teacher was pregnant and having a baby, and was taking a few months off. A substitue was coming in for a few days, and if he agreed to, he'd teach the subject until their teacher came back.  
  
"Ooohhh," a friend of hers said with a grin. "Usa, check out the sub!"  
  
She turned to see a familiar face from her earlier years, one she'd been glad to forget. "Mamoru," she hissed, and a wave of ice swept over her. She grimaced, wishing immediately that he were back at college. He'd left for two years to "study abroad". Rei had been devestated without her boyfriend, and became almost subdued after his departure. She'd eventually hooked up with Jadeite. Usagi remembered the day the four of them returned. It had been revolutionary, to say the least.  
  
As he set his briefcase down, the class quieted, waiting for this teenager to speak. The guys grinned, he was young enough to be one of them. The girls had hearts in their eyes, he was their dream rolled into one nice little package. Glancing around, his eyes rested on Usagi. They reflected no emotion as they focused on her. She met his gaze and raised her chin defiantly. He was the first to break eye contact, moving on. Though they had only stared for several seconds, Usagi felt slightly shaken.  
  
'Why him...' Two years ago, they'd teased each other. She'd been a baby, he was an adult. Now she was no longer the same little girl, and yet she was. Her long golden hair no longer adorned the familiar odangoes, instead hung to her side in shimmering waves of black and silver. Her private school uniform had been traded in for a belly tattoo in silver flames, lacy halter tops, and black bondage pants. Yet she still held the mentality of a five-year-old.  
  
Mamoru looked the same, though smarter. He wore slacks and a button down shirt, and a black tie. While he'd lost the earring he'd gotten done with Rei before he left, Usagi'd gained piercings in just about every imaginable place, and then some.  
  
"My name is Chiba Mamoru. Some of you may know me, I know I recognize a few of you. In case not, I just moved back from Sapporo Island where I was studying to become a physics major." Usagi's eyes widened, and he noticed. "I had planned on becoming a doctor, but while up north, I fell in love with this subject. I'm twenty-two, and still getting my degree. I'm probably the only one qualified to teach this subject in the area, so I agreed to. Any questions?"  
  
Nobody spoke for a few seconds, until Namarie raised her hand. Usagi rolled her eyes. The blonde ditz was the biggest prep in the school. Captain of the cheerleading squad for two years in a row, she scraped by in order to pass. The only reason she was in physics was because she thought chemistry was too hard, and that this class was easier.  
  
"Do you have a girlfriend?" she asked, popping gum. Mamoru's eyes met Usagi's briefly, and she shook her head. Rei hadn't waited.  
  
"No."  
  
Several of the girls began to whisper excitedly, and Usagi rolled her eyes. "Since there's nothing here to tell what you've done so far, can I have a student come and show me where you are?" Several of the girls' hands shot in the air, Usagi's remaining firmly in her lap. Mamoru looked at the role call, and looked up. "Usagi?"  
  
She glowered, sliding out of her seat and picking up the thick book. She approached his desk, feeling the glares aimed at her back. "Chiba-sensei, you don't want to ask her. She doesn't know anything about this class. She can barely pass," Namarie said spitefully. Mamoru raised his eyebrow.  
  
"We'll see about that."  
  
Usagi's cheeks were flushed as she pulled a chair up to his desk, making sure to sit a distance away. She didn't look at him, but sucked in a breath as he reached over, pulling her chair next to his. "Please, Usagi," he said as though he were annoyed.  
  
"Namarie was right. I'm not good at this class. You should ask someone else."  
  
"I don't want to. So show me where you just stopped," he said, gesturing to the book. Usagi glanced up, catching the cheerleader's glare. If it had been anyone else, she would have begun flirting, just to annoy the prep. However, she knew Mamoru. She couldn't bring herself to act like a bimbo.  
  
"Chapter five."  
  
He raised an eyebrow, but she wouldn't look at him. "Care to describe... I have nothing to go on. What do you know?"  
  
She hissed out of clenched teeth, flipping the book open. He laid a hand on it, stopping her furious page flipping. She turned to look at him, finally, and felt the familiar hate and disgust and - apprehension? 'Why?' His eyes held no teasing, nothing but straightforward honesty. "Usagi, I'm not here to torture you. I can plainly see that you've changed, as have I. We're not children anymore, and I honestly want to know how far this class have gotten. If you really don't wish to help me, I'll call someone else."  
  
'Damnit, now he's gone and done it.' She felt bad for acting like a bitch around him. She sighed in resignation. "Then I apologize. I expected you to make fun of me in front of my classmates." He nodded, smiling. Usagi simply looked at the book, pointing to the first page. "We've covered this through..." She flipped several pages, then stopped at the end of the fifth chapter.  
  
"End of chapter five. We know the material listed in these chapters, as well as several other topics."  
  
She went on to point out the problems they'd done, having circled them in the book. She tried to hide the fact that she didn't understand a piece of it, but Mamoru obviously figured it out. However, he didn't say anything, and allowed her to go back to her desk with hassle. As she sat down, Namarie murmured "Bitch," just loud enough so everyone around could hear.  
  
"Jealous? I see he picke me... over you. My, my... what the world's coming to!" she whispered back, watching Mamoru as he looked through her book. Namarie opened her mouth to snap something back before Mamoru asked for silence.  
  
"Well, let's start on page seventy-five," he said, handing Usagi her book back. She glanced at the page, only to find a piece of paper hidden in the creases of the page. She looked up, but nobody met her eye. Glancing back down, she unfolded it slowly.  
  
Come back here after class, I have a planning period.  
  
She rolled her eyes, remembering how arrogant he'd always been. 'Trust him to not care whether or not I have a class next period.' Not that she did... she shook her head, pushing the note out of her mind and focusing on the information Mamoru had begun reviewing.  
  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
She walked around the halls with Minako, listening to the blonde talk about her latest encounter with a jealous girl. The blonde had become the school's favorite toy, and Usagi heard a lot of rumors, calling her things such as "the community bicycle: everybody gets a ride". The rumors angered Usagi, because she knew Minako was just a tease, and had never gone farther with a guy than any of her friends. When the bell rang, Minako drifted off to her class, leaving Usagi to go back to physics. She made her way to the room, finding it completely empty when she arrived.  
  
Sitting in a desk, she pulled a cd player out of her backpack, putting the headphones on and pressing play. 'Why not... if he's gonna keep me waiting, might as well-'  
  
She noticed him enter the room just as the first song started up. Curling her lip in distaste, she slid the headphones off. "Yeah?"  
  
Mamoru pulled up a chair, glancing over his shoulder to make sure the door was shut. He sat for a few moments, in silence.  
  
"What do you want?" Usagi asked tersly. He shrugged.  
  
"I knew you had a free period this period, and I wanted to catch up. How've you been?"  
  
She eyed him for a moment, judging his alterior motives. When she found none, she shrugged. "Nothing. School still sucks. You?"  
  
"Same. I see you've changed. What brought on your... goth look?"  
  
She glanced down, shrugging. She knew exactly why she dressed like this. Same reason she was so bitter. Not that Mamoru would find out. "No specific reason. Why'd you change majors?"  
  
"No reason." The two traded short answers humorously, neither seeming willing to offer more information than necessary, and neither brought up Rei until half an hour into their "chat", when Usagi decided to spit it out.  
  
"You know, she waited for you for four months." He nodded, showing no emotion. "She expected you'd come back. After you didn't, she moved on. She's happy now, and I don't want you bothering her."  
  
Mamoru nodded. "I have no plans of getting back together with her." Usagi believed him. She waited for a few seconds in silence, then sighed.  
  
"A lot has changed. Don't expect to be welcomed back so readily."  
  
With that, she stood and walked out of the classroom, leaving him to his own thoughts. 'I know what'll make me feel better.' She glanced down the hall, then walked toward the double doors. Stopping at her locker on the way, she dumped her books inside, straightening them with her foot so she could shut it. Slamming the door noisily, she walked out the doors into the cloudy day.  
  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Sitting in the arcade, Usagi watched the children come in and out, begging their mothers for one of Motoki's root beer floats, or a few quarters to play DDR. She had mastered that game a year ago, and nobody had beaten her yet. When the screaming children died down, Motoki came over to sit in the seat across from her.  
  
"So, cutting again?"  
  
Usagi snorted. "Obviously. They would never let me out. Besides, there's a test I don't wanna take in my last block."  
  
Motoki nodded. He'd become used to Usagi skipping school and coming to sit in the arcade, until one or more of her friends joined her. They'd made this their hang out, and had been coming here daily for three years. He'd watched them change, as Minako went from the innocent actress/model to the innocent tease. He knew she maintained a strong moral barrier, partially because he'd been told, and partially because he just knew her that well. Usagi had gone from the good little girl to the grown up woman, adorned with tattoos, piercings, and chains. Makoto had left her tomboy years and had become a beautiful model, working for one of the more glamorous studios in Japan.   
  
Ami, though still studious, had learned that she could have fun and be smart at the same time. After six months of cutting herself off from everyone in order to maintain the perfect 'A', her four friends had pretty much kidnapped her for a weekend and forced her to realize there was life outside school. Rei had gone from the Catholic schoolgirl to tease, though he knew she was for Jade's eyes only.  
  
"So how's the crowd?" she asked, meaning the business of the day. He shrugged.  
  
"So-so."  
  
She fell silent, as did he. One of the younger workers took several customers, Usagi watching with a grin as several little children clamored to order first.  
  
Glancing at her watch, the smile slid from her face and she stood, pulling her shirt down to cover her taught stomach. "I've got to pick up Moriah."  
  
She left the arcade as silently as she'd come, walking across the street to her small car. She slid into the driver's seat, the keys jingling in her hand as she turned the car on, then glanced over to the passenger seat. It was a complete mess, but nobody sat in it, so she didn't care. She pulled out of the parking lot, driving the familiar path to her father's house. As she walked up the steps, the door automatically opened for her, revealing her blonde father holding a sleeping little girl in his arms.  
  
"How was she?" Usagi asked quietly as she took the little girl, feeling her stir.  
  
"Good. We played for a few hours, then she feel asleep right after lunch." Usagi nodded, smoothing Moriah's ebony curls. As Kenji waved good-bye, giving her a reassuring smile, the door closed, and Usagi let the child back to the car. She secured her into the childseat, briefly brushing a stray lock of hair out of the way. A light yawn escaped Moriah's lips as her eyes fluttered open. She rubbed them, blinking sleepily up at Usagi.  
  
Staring into the crystalline blue eyes that matched her own, she smiled and placed a kiss on Moriah's soft forehead. Her eyes shut slowly, and Usagi walked around to the door of her car. She slid in, turning the car on once more.   
  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Usagi watched as Moriah attempted to pull herself into a standing position, wanting to reach Usagi. The older of the two giggled in a rare moment of happiness as Moriah pulled herself up. Suddenly the front door opened with a bang, and Moriah went tumbling to the ground. Her elbow knocked solidly into the table, and she began to cry.  
  
"Usagi? Moriah?"  
  
Usagi shifted, picking up the crying child. "Shhhh, mommy's here," she said reassuringly. When Ikuko walked into the room, Moriah's sobs quieted for a few moments, and she allowed herself to be taken into Ikuko's arms. Usagi watched carefully as Ikuko tickled the girl, turning her cries into giggles. A knock came at the door, someone Ikuko said to be from her work.  
  
Usagi took the girl back into her arms as her mother went to the front door. Usagi saw her four friends and Mamoru waiting. Minako was the first inside, squealing with delight. "Moriah!" she said happily, rushing to see the child. She'd delighted herself in watching the baby grow from the day she was born. Usagi eyed Mamoru wearily. He was her teacher now. She would have to be careful around him.  
  
"Motoki said you'd already been to the arcade," Rei said nonchalantly. She appeared completely calm with the fact that Mamoru was back, unexpected. Usagi nodded, watching as the girls passed Moriah around.  
  
"She's so pretty," he said, looking from Usagi to Ikuko. "How old is she?"  
  
"Thirteen months," she said proudly. Moriah got passed back into Usagi's arms, and Usagi held her close, shifting her weight so the child could rest on her small hip. In Mamoru's eyes, the small child in her arms took away all the harshness that life had dealt her with.   
  
The group fell into silence as Ikuko left, muttering something about work. Usagi lifted her free hand to tug at one of Moriah's tight curls. "You're so pretty today. Grampy took good care of you today, didn't he?" she said in a sing-song voice.  
  
"What happened with the babysitter?" Ami asked when she heard Usagi's words. The girl rolled her eyes.  
  
"She decided that this angel didn't make her enough money. My dad's taking care of her until I can find another person."  
  
Mamoru frowned. What, did Ikuko put all the responsibility of caring for the baby on Usagi?  
  
Looking up, Usagi saw the question in his eyes, mistaking it for something else. "Oh no, I love my dad taking care of her. He's a good figure in her life too, but I just wish I didn't have to drive so far to take her." Still seeing a question in his eyes. "My parents are divorced..." she offered, but his question wasn't answered. She looked away, seeing her friends making themselves at home. "You guys, let's go somewhere. The park."  
  
They grinned and nodded. They decided to walk, since it was only a block from Ikuko's new house, and were there in a matter of minutes. Usagi let Moriah sit down on the grass. It was soft and cushony, so Usagi didn't mind the baby playing on it. The group sat down in a circle around her, each calling her to their lap. Usagi found it amusing to watch Mamoru, her old friend and teacher, call to the baby in a childish voice. Moriah looked confused, taking one look at Usagi and deciding to crawl to her.  
  
"Good girl," Usagi cooed, picking Moriah up and setting her in her lap. Minako, who was next to Usagi, reached over and picked the child up, setting her into her own lap as Moriah giggled.  
  
They fell into silence once more, and Usagi felt Mamoru shift. He'd once been a part of this group, but now he wasn't. They fell silent around him, and didn't care to share their secrets to him anymore. They'd changed, and he'd been gone to watch it. The one who intrigued him most was Usagi though. The other girls, he could see where they had come from, and how they got where they were. But Usagi... would her parents' divorce and her sister being born really change her.  
  
"Wanna go to mommy?" Minako whispered in Moriah's ear. The girl nodded and stretched her hands out toward her mother. Usagi reached over and took the little girl back into her lap, shutting the world out as she cooed to the little girl. Moriah reached up a small arm and pressed Usagi's nose like a button.  
  
Mamoru watched the entire display with curiosity. He couldn't understand why Usagi's mother would leave her with the responsibility of the little girl. She didn't even resemble her father. 'Can that be why they split? Did Ikuko have an affair?' He opened his mouth to ask, but snapped it shut. He couldn't ask that, not anymore.  
  
Seeing his fish-like maneuver, Usagi raised an eyebrow. "Yes?" He shook his head, but she remained persistant. "Tell me."  
  
Mamoru sighed. "Who's her father?" The others winced, but his eyes locked on Usagi's.  
  
"Someone from my past." She looked troubled, but not by his question, but by something else. "To be honest, I've no clue. I mean, I don't know his name." She looked down at the girl. "It's so sad, I don't even know my child's father."  
  
The last words sucked the breath out of him like a strong fist to the gut. "Your child?"  
  
Humor filled her eyes, dry and almost sarcastic humor. "You thought she's my sister?" A grin spread across her features. "Nope, Mamo-chan, this little girl's my own child."  
  
Moriah looked up at her mother, who was almost crying. "Mama?" she said, using the one word she could speak. Minako shrieked. "She can talk?"  
  
Usagi grinned, meeting her friends' eyes. "Yeah..." she trailed off, as though the answer were obvious. "She's been speaking for a few weeks."  
  
The girls continued talking amongst themselves, Mamoru once more not a part of the conversation. He studied Usagi, the little girl resting in her lap. Usagi's once blonde hair now an unnatural black, one that matched her own daughters'. Their eyes were the same. He wondered why she didn't know who Moriah's father was. During their conversation, Usagi told him she'd never done drugs, never had a drink, and never been on a date. That left only one option... He shuddered, not wanting to go there. He tuned back into their conversation, finding them to be jokingly laughing about someone named Jade.  
  
"So anyway, we were walking around when Zak and Neil come up, demanding to know where we'd hidden it," Rei said through her laughter. The others were nearly in tears themselves, enjoying this story very much.  
  
"Yeah when suddenly out of nowhere this big bad guy came up and stole her away," a deep voice said, startling Mamoru. The girls only laughed harder. He found himself staring into the eyes of someone he thought he'd seen the last of. 'Jadeite,' his mind hissed.   
  
He felt himself tense up as the blonde sat behind Rei, pulling her onto his lap. She shrieked and laughed until tears were really rolling down her face. Jade looked amused. "Go on, care to finish before Neil actually comes?"  
  
Mamoru's mind raced. He quickly connected Neil with Nephrite, and prepared himself for seeing the brown haired man. Accompanying him were Zoicite and Kunzite. The three of them seated themselves beside a girl, Zak with Ami, Kyle with Minako, and Neil with Makoto. The girls had calmed, and were finishing the story. Neil scowled at Rei. "Must you tell the entire world?" She nodded.  
  
Moriah found her way out of Usagi's lap and crawled around the circle, stopping in front of Mamoru. He raised an eyebrow as she seated herself in front of him. "Mamo," she stated, and his eyebrow raised. Looking up, everyone's jaws were at ground level. "Mamo," Moriah repeated, peals of laughter accompanying her declaration. Usagi shook her head. "Amazing. That's the second word she's ever said."  
  
"Mama, Mamo," Moriah said proudly, helping herself into Mamoru's lap. She turned around, and stuck her thumb into her mouth. She looked around the circle proudly.   
  
Usagi startled, remembering that the guys didn't know Mamoru. "Oh yeah, guys, this is Mamoru, an old friend of ours. Mamoru, these losers are Jade, Rei's guy, Neil, Mako's guy, Zak, Ami's guy, and Kyle, Mina's guy."  
  
They began protesting being treated like property, until Jade pointedly glared at Usagi. "Yeah well if we're property then Usa here's dirt poor." She stuck her tongue out at him, and Mamoru recognized the girl he'd known so many years ago. She glared, but in his mind she was still the little girl she'd been when he left.   
  
"Yeah well..." she struggled to come up with a retort, but nothing came to mind. She sagged, but sat up straight, triumph in her eyes. "At least my guy looks damn good!"  
  
The girls all groaned, shaking their heads and sighing. Rei turned to Mamoru. "Our Usa's developed quite a crush on Tuxedo Kamen," Rei teased, watching as Usagi's face turned bright red. "Ha! Teach you to call my boyfriend ugly. At least my boyfriend can show his face in public."  
  
"Yeah well at least Tuxedo Kamen..."  
  
Mamoru waited. This was too much information to take in. In one day, he'd become Usagi's teacher and her crush, though she didn't know he was Tuxedo Kamen, and she'd been transformed into the gothic mother. His old friends had paired up with the four men he most hated, and there wasn't any way to warn them without revealing what he couldn't say.   
  
"Whatever. You can't come up with anything good," Zak said, dismissing her with a wave of his hand. She pouted, then spied Mamoru, looking lost. She grinned.  
  
"Don't worry, Mamo. These guys are relatively harmless. Actually, I could probably beat them up with my bare hands. And our favorite hobby besides playing with Moriah is to insult each other. It's quite amusing, because they can't win. All they can do is take stabs at someone they don't know."  
  
"Ah yes," Kyle said. "But how do you know we don't know him, m'dear?" he said, wiggling his eyebrows. Minako smacked him on the arm.  
  
"You idiot," she reprimanded him, obviously not realizing the joke he'd just delivered.  
  
Usagi perked up, bewildered. "You know him?" The humor had left her eyes, and in its place was something akin to fierce curiosity. She had reasons to know him, other than her crush.  
  
Kyle rolled his eyes. "Used to."  
  
"Then who is he."  
  
Kyle's eyes flickered momentarily and met Mamoru's before he shrugged, the gesture going by unnoticed. "It was my past life."  
  
Mamoru held his breath. How did Kyle know who he was? "Liar," Usagi said, and there was real pain in her voice. Kyle winced, clearly torn between two choices. Give information that wasn't his to give, or help to stop Usagi's hurting.  
  
"That I cannot tell you." Their conversation had become sour, and nobody wanted to jump in and break it up. "Not without a good reason."  
  
Usagi's lip trembled as she stood. She scooped up Moriah, her hair attempting to hide the tears in her eyes. Mamoru quickly grabbed her free wrist. "Why do you want to know so badly?"  
  
She shook her head. "No reason." It was an obvious lie.  
  
"Usa," Ami said softly. Usagi backed out of the center of the circle, tears streaming down her face. She'd been backed into a corner. "You can trust us."  
  
She sighed, slowly sitting on the ground. "He's the one..." her voice cracked. Mamoru stared into her eyes, then into the child's. It hit him, and he'd never felt such shame and regret.  
  
"He's the father of your baby," he breathed. He remembered that night when the lone senshi had battled. It was just himself and the moon senshi, and in their passion he'd become blinded to her true identity. He thought nothing of it, but suddenly the layers of masks seemed to be stripped from everyone's visages. He could see the girls were the senshi, and their boyfriends, they were generals from earth in another time.  
  
"Yeah," Usagi said quietly. "I mean, I don't expect him to come and... like care for me. That I can do. I didn't even think he was real until... that night. And I don't even know if he's a real person. I mean, obviously, but..." She began to cry, holding her baby close. Her friends looked stricken and pained. Kyle met and held Mamoru's eyes, watching as Mamoru feigned curiosity and innocence. He looked away, back at Usagi. She stood, shaking her head.  
  
"Well, it's time for us to leave." With that, she turned and began walking away. Kyle cleared his throat, looking pointedly into Mamoru's eyes.  
  
"Now that she's gone, stop bullshitting us. Either you go after her and tell her, or I will." The girls all looked at him curiously, until it dawned on them too, one by one.  
  
"You're Tuxedo Kamen?" Rei asked. Her voice was filled with wonder.  
  
He nodded miserably. "Holy hell," he said. "I swear to god I didn't do this on purpose." He didn't want to see their disbelief, their anger toward him.  
  
"Go talk to her," Makoto said quietly. Nodding, Mamoru stood, and jogged off after the young woman. When he caught up to her, she was crying silently, talking softly to Moriah.  
  
"I'm sorry babe, I didn't mean to scare you."  
  
"Mamo," Moriah said, pointing. Usagi whirled, and glared at him.  
  
"Don't follow me," she hissed. He ignored her, and took a good look at Moriah. His little girl. "What do you want."  
  
"I know who Tuxedo Kamen is," he said. She continued to glare at him.  
  
"Why does it matter to you? You've been gone for two years. You come back, and now you're my teacher. You can't be my friend too."  
  
He looked into her eyes, showing sincerity. "But can I at least tell you?" She waited expectantly. He drew in a deep breath. "I am."  
  
Her breath hitched in her throat, and she backed away. "Why would you lie to me like that? Of all the things you could've done, this is by far the worst."  
  
"I can prove it. You're Sailor Moon. The night Kunzite attacked, two years ago, you were alone. We defeated his youma together. You told me your senshi were all coming, and we left."  
  
She was remembering, the evening. Her breathing was shallow as Mamoru took a step closer. "Do you believe me?"  
  
Nodding slowly, she came to focus on him. "Why did you?" she asked. He cocked his head, as though the question were stupid. "As Tuxedo Kamen, I loved you. As Mamoru, I knew I'd never have you. When you came to me, it was like a dream come true."  
  
"Do you still love me, even though I'm not the same? As a senshi I haven't changed, but as a person... I'm so dark, and I'm not a little girl anymore."  
  
He smiled. "Of course." Usagi's lips curved up a bit and she looked at her baby. She put her forehead against Moriah's. "You hear that honey? Your momma's the luckiest girl alive." She placed a kiss on Moriah's lips, which the little girl returned, then wrapped her arm around her mother's neck, tangling her hands in her hair. Usagi looked back at Mamoru, suddenly shy. She'd spent one night with him, but couldn't understand why she was holding back now. He pushed his hands into his pockets, locking eyes with her.  
  
"I think I'm luckier," he whispered, bending over to place a kiss on her lips. She returned it, linking her free hand with his. He stepped back. "If I can't be your friend, or your teacher, can I just be yours?"  
  
She nodded happily, her mind reeling from what she'd learned in such a short amount of time. His arm came around her waist hugging her to him.  
  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
~*Lindsay 


End file.
